Misery
by Lanerz-XD
Summary: The story of a quel'dorei mage's journey into dark magic in an endless search for power and knowledge.


Once upon a time, in the ancient forests of Quel'thalas, there lived a beautiful Quel'dorei mage. She was renowned for her talent with the arcane, and in her youth, it was said she helped raise the city of Silvermoon. A student of the proud Highborne mages of centuries past, she carved a niche amongst the greatest archmages that Azeroth had ever seen.

But for all her power and her immense talent, she had a great hole within her heart. No amount of gold, pleasure or knowledge would satisfy her greedy soul. She consumed everything she came across, tirelessly seeking to fill the void with the greatest magics wielded by mortal hands. After she had read every book, learned every lecture by heart, and memorized every spell ever written, she still hungered for more.

Realizing she could learn nothing more from her peers, understanding that the libraries of Silvermoon no longer held mysteries for her to solve, she left the city to explore the world. Her travels eventually took her to the great, desolate land of Northrend, far from her home of Eternal Summer. Amongst the dragons, monsters and spirits of the North, she sought the mysteries of the makers beneath the glaciers, ever hungry for more.

Near the troll cities of Zul'Drak, the mage stumbled across a tomb, half buried in the glacier. It was far older than the troll city, and perhaps even older than the creatures that skittered beneath the glaciers in their strange cities below ground. She began to climb into the tomb, descending deep within the earth, where no light had ever penetrated. The shadows were alive around her, whispering, watching her, but she felt no fear, only the desire to conquer and understand all that she encountered.

In the blackest, deepest pit, the mage encountered a demon, wreathed in shadow and flame. It challenged her with a savage roar, and she responded with all her might. Spells flashed in the catacombs, frightening the shadows back to their corners, beneath the stones and within holes in the ancient tomb's walls. Gradually, the mage began to weaken, her power waning. She readied herself for the final, deadly spell, her heart full of regret.

But instead of slaying her, the demon relented. It watched the elf, sitting on it's hooved haunches, eyes glowing like wicked embers within their sockets. The two sat in silence, the mage in confused disbelief, the demon in quiet contemplation. Finally, the creature spoke:

"I know your heart, mortal," it purred. "I know that pit within you, desperate, hungry. I can give you more knowledge than you could learn in your entire lifetime. I could give you all you desire and more, I can make you never feel that emptiness again."

The mage was no fool, and knew that such a gift would have a tremendous price, so she asked what the demon wished in return. It grinned, needle sharp teeth bared in a wicked display.

"I, too, hunger," it hissed unpleasantly. "I desire sustenance. I desire a soul."

The mage stared, horrified, and backed away a few paces from the demon. "Knowledge is useless without the soul to understand it." She said firmly, preparing to be attacked again.

The demon cut her off with a barking cackle that made the mage's hair stand on end. "Not your soul, silly elf." It chortled. "Your soul is corrupted by your greed, your lust. I desire a more pure soul. Bring me a living soul and I shall fulfill your wicked desire."

The elf agreed, signing a pact in blood with the vile beast, and set out into the wilds in search of prey. She captured one of the local ice trolls by freezing him solid in a block of ice. Quickly teleporting back to the chamber, she offered the troll in sacrifice to the demon. It slit the poor creature's throat and drank of its blood. The mage watched, fascinated by the process, and was rewarded with the secrets that mages never mentioned in books or lessons.

There in the tomb, the mage learned the arts of Shadow and Flame, harnessing the darkness beyond the arcane, twisting it to her will. Each week, she returned to the tomb with a fresh sacrifice. Trolls, the strange bear-like creatures from the forest of impossibly tall pines, even the trapped ghosts of her long dead ancestors. Each day she learned new, forbidden talents, and each day the demon's hunger grew.

"I tire of these savages!" It shrieked, devouring a young troll that the mage had carefully delivered. "Bring me a soul worthy of my power, worthy of the knowledge I give you!" It stared at the mage, snarling menacingly, the blood of its last victim steaming on its needle-like teeth.

"I cannot bring you other souls, these are the only ones I can safely transport here. Do you expect me to return here daily from Quel'thalas with a new mage for you to devour?" The mage retorted calmly, deep in her studies and irritated by the shrieked interruption.

The demon sat back on its haunches, toying with its barbed tail, eyes narrowed. Eventually, it grinned. "Then you will take me to your home, you will bring me to your lands. And I will feast on the engorged souls of your kin." It cackled wildly and the mage eyed it as it licked its shrunken lips in anticipation already.

"How will I take you into Quel'thalas. You cannot simply walk in, our lands have been warded since we settled there," The mage huffed. The ancient forests had been sealed against demons for centuries, warding the citizens against the evils they had once awakened, and allowing them to practice their magics with abandon.

"You will carry me, silly elf." The demon presented the mage with a huge crystal. As it spoke command words, its shadowy form faded, entering the crystal in an instant. The rock hummed and throbbed in the mage's hand, and she eyed it with eager lust until a voice entered her mind. _You will sacrifice them to this gem until I am strong enough to return to my true form._

The next day, the mage set to return to her homeland, the stone secured on her form, speaking in strange whispers as she sailed back to her people's homeland. She was greeted with surprise by her fellow mages, though they regarded her with caution. Her years with the demon had changed her. Though as beautiful as ever, she had the taint of the Fel upon her, corrupting her beauty, making it cruel. Her eyes shone with green light, shimmering, even in the dead of night. She assured them it was nothing to worry about, hiding the demon beneath their very noses with her diabolical magics.

The mage retreated to the forests, settling on the shore of the great sea. She found a cavern cut into a wind shorn bank and created an altar for the fel crystal within. Safe in her grotto, she plotted on how to retrieve a soul for her tutor.

It did not take long, for she used her wicked charms to lure young elves to their doom. Their blood was funneled into the crystal, and it grew with each monthly offering. The demon within was sated, and the mage continued to learn lessons from her dark tutor. As her tutor began to take shape within the cavern, she grew in power by leaps and bounds.

Decades passed, and the mage continued her training, using her skills to amass wealth and popularity within the city of Silvermoon. All of Quel'thalas was at her beck and call, and she used suitors like her own playthings. Eventually, her daliances took seed and she birthed a baby girl after nearly four decades serving the demon.

For the first time, she feared for a life not her own. And so, she kept the child hidden from the demon, secreting her away with the Farstriders who fought the trolls in their great cities and small villages. The mage did not return with a sacrifice for years, allowing her daughter to grow and leave her care.

When at last she returned, the demon was infuriated. It screamed, enraged, and threatened the mage until she calmed it with her own blood. Once relaxed, the demon demanded a particularly delicious soul to sate its unending hunger.

"Bring me a truly innocent soul," It hissed at the mage. "Something that has known no evil. Bring me the soul of a child."

The mage hesitated and then agreed, remembering their contract. In the dead of the night, she stole a young boy from his home and sacrificed him to the demon. The beast was sated, but she knew that it would not be for long. The creature would desire more and more depraved sacrifices until at last the mage was caught and killed by her own people, and the demon would be free to wreak havoc on her homeland.

So year after year, the mage brought children she spirited away from their homes to the demon, and she watched, fascinated, as the demon consumed their souls, staining the cavern with their blood.

The villagers began to speak of ghosts and ghouls, keeping their children safe within their homes, away from the mage's greed and wickedness. As the years passed, the mage began to grow old and frail, making her excursions for the demon harder and harder, though her mind was sharp as it had ever been, enhanced by decades of foul magic.

As the mage aged, her child grew into a woman, becoming a proud ranger of the forests as beautiful as her mother, with none of the vile taint. The ranger swore to protect the citizens of Quel'thalas against the kidnappings, and dedicated herself to find the culprits. The mage feared for her life, and began to despise her fate, trapped between her desire and the wicked cruelty of the demon. Her knowledge of the fel and arcane had grown, and had begun to surpass her demon tutor, and so, the mage began to plot her freedom.

After a few months, the mage came to her daughter and told her of the demon, living in the cave by the sea. She blamed the creature for the disappearances and the ranger set out for the cave, full of bravery and a desire for revenge. The mage had given the ranger an enchanted bow when she came of age, and the woman wore it proudly, expecting it to help her slay the demon in its lair. The mage followed close behind, a cruel, hard look in her vile green eyes.

Within the cavern, the demon awaited the mage's return with her latest sacrifice. When it saw the armed ranger in the entrance of the cavern, knee deep in sea water, it knew it had been betrayed. The two fought, spells and steel clashing with one another, all around the bloodstained chamber. Unlike the mage, the ranger never tired, never ran out of energy. She subdued the demon with ease, but found no matter what she tried, she could never slay the beast.

It cackled at the ranger. "Fool! You cannot destroy my body! It would take the power of a hundred arrows just to kill me!" It laughs and prepared to strike the ranger down.

Fel fireballs and wicked curses struck the demon and it recoiled in agony. The mage stood in the entry, laughing and cluching the fel crystal in her right hand, where it pulsed like a heartbeat. As the demon shrieked, she crushed the crystal in her hand, banishing the demon to the Nether for eternity. The ranger stood up, shocked at her mother's apperance and she rushed to embrace her.

"Mother, thank the-" The ranger's voice cut off, and she stared, dumbfounded, at her mother. Confusion lit her face as she realized she was trapped in a spellbound glyph. Her mother watched her, silent amusement in her eyes.

"I never really wanted to hurt you." -she says with cold sincerity. The glyphs around the ranger began to glow brightly, lighting the cruel features of the mage in sickly relief. The ranger stared, unable to speak, trapped within the ward.

The glyphs began to hum as the mage approached. She placed both hands on her daughter's tear stained face and smiled. The glow grew brighter and twin screams echoed around the chamber as the light climaxed in a bright flash. The mage collapsed, with a choked cry, blood seeping from a wound in her stomach.

The ranger stood over her mother, a dagger clasped in her right hand tightly. She frowned, watching the mage curl in on herself, whimpering in agony as her blood seeped out quickly. She coughed up blood, staring in horror up at the ranger. The mage's daughter knelt down next to her mother, placing the blade against her throat.

The mage spasmed and died as her daughter slid the dagger against her neck, blood splattering against the ranger's damaged armor. She straightened out and eyed the corpse, curiosity and horror on her face for a moment before it faded. She threw the dagger aside and turned toward the exit.

A crooked smile crossed her lips and she laughed, her eyes flaring with fel magic.

"Why bother with pacts and promises when I have all the time in the world to learn its secrets?" She laughs again, her voice cold and cruel, and so unlike the ranger's.


End file.
